


Delivery Man Seduction Simulator

by WhiskeyAndStout



Category: Death Stranding (Video Games)
Genre: Gay Sex, Licking, M/M, Non-Consensual Touching, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn with Feelings, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:35:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22647265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskeyAndStout/pseuds/WhiskeyAndStout
Summary: Higgs gets more than he bargained for after harrassing the legendary porter.
Relationships: Sam Porter Bridges/Higgs Monaghan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 202





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Симулятор соблазнения курьера](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26320645) by [Greenmusik](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greenmusik/pseuds/Greenmusik)



Sam had screwed up big time. 

Going into a MULE camp to retrieve packages without defensive weapons was a bad idea, but even worse was doing so when the delivery had a time limit.   
Trying to make up for these two oversights, Sam tried to sneak in and approach the orange postbox as quick as he could. Unfortunately as he was hacking in, several MULEs surrounded him.   
The porter tried to fight the cargo thief closest to him, punching him in the gut and then giving a right hook, but a searing electrical zap stopped him before he could even get the enemy on the ground. Dizzy but undeterred, Sam whirled around to grapple with the MULE wielding the cattle prod, and managed to kick him down before two other MULEs started wailing on him, and another bolt of electricity sent him straight into the darkness.

"Sam? Oh Sammy? Sam Porter Bridges. Ah, there we are."  
As Sam came to, his eyes fluttering open and squinting, his stomach clenched at the familiar low, drawling muffled voice above him.  
Higgs. That golden skull mask glinted right above him, making him realize that he was… laying his head on Higgs' lap. In the middle of an empty field, far away from the MULE camp he had been in.  
"You had me worried there for a spell. Couldn't have you goin' into a coma and ruining all the fun we've been having."  
"What do you want?" Sam growled, his adrenaline spiking and his heart thumping in his ears.  
Higgs stroked Sam's cheek almost tenderly before roughly grabbing his jaw. Sam flinched and tried to move, but found that he couldn't.   
"Ooh, what do I want, Sam?" He cooed salaciously, before dropping his voice to a more serious and demanding tone.  
"I happened upon you in the road knocked out. Anyone coulda done anything to you. Take better care, unless you want to hear from me again."  
"Fuck off. If I didn't know any better I'd say you sound like you gave a shit."  
"Now, Sam," Higgs sighed, sounding tired. He took off his mask, revealing his striking outlined eyes. Sam swallowed.  
"Do you really think I'd take the time out of my busy schedule, ruinin' lives and trying to bring about the next extinction, if I didn't give a shit?"  
Sam sat up and made to get up to his feet, but Higgs pulled him back down, making him fall backwards awkwardly into Higgs' chest, where he could feel the hard BB pod case against his back. Higgs wrapped his arms around him tightly and Sam growled.  
"Let me go."  
"Uhn-nn," Higgs replied simply, and nuzzled into Sam's neck and breathed in deeply, making the other man shudder.  
"You're such a fucking creep, get the fuck away," Sam groaned, struggling in futility to break free.  
"Ah-ah-ah, Sammy boy, not so fast. We never get any quality time together like this."  
"That's because you're always trying to fucking kill me."  
Higgs chuckled and Sam could feel the vibration of it in his chest.   
"Well that's for later. Right now," he stated slowly before pausing to lick up Sam's neck to under his ear, earning another shudder and an "Ugh", "right now I just want to play."  
Finally Sam managed the energy to elbow Higgs in his gut and break free while the terrorist wheezed and doubled over.   
"Oh my," he laughed, and in an instant he was gone, only to appear right behind Sam again, getting him into a full nelson.   
"Attaboy, Sam. But we're not fightin' now, remember?" He whispered closely to Sam's ear before licking over it.  
"Ugh, what is with you and licking?" Sam groaned, trying to pull Higgs' arms off but failing.  
"I just want to remember your taste. And your scent," he murmured, shifting his arms around Sam to breathe in close to his neck again. The shorter man's hair stood on end and he stiffened up, giving up on fighting back.  
"You're so fucking gross," Sam said, a little strain in his voice.  
Higgs chuckled, and suddenly Sam was free from restraint. The golden-masked man appeared before him again, bearing down on Sam so that the shorter man leaned back defensively.  
"Sure, I got an ugly mug," said the handsome man, smiling charmingly, "but can't you be even a little grateful for gettin' you outta harm's way, Bridges?"  
Sam immediately thought "your face is the least gross thing about you," before thinking better of it and took a step back, his foot hitting something metallic. He looked over to see a pile of packages: the ones he was supposed to have stolen from the MULEs. Baffled, Sam turned back around to ask what the hell was going on, but when he did, Higgs had already gone. The porter looked back at the packages and scratched his head.  
"What the hell is up with that guy?"

The leader of the Homo Demens stood at a cliff miles away, looking down at the confused Sam who started loading up his cargo. He heaved a sigh, brought a compact mirror out of his pocket and flipped it open, checking his makeup and turning his head at his reflection, a look of sincere sadness in his eyes.

"I wonder if Sam really thinks I'm gross."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here comes the explicit stuff. You've been warned.

The next time the two would meet up was all too soon for Sam Porter Bridges. He had enough on his plate; a creepy terrorist with a penchant for licking was the last thing he needed. This time, however, Sam was the one who caught him unaware. 

Successfully infiltrating a Homo Demens camp in the West, Sam stealthed his way through the terrorists, making short work of them with his strand and his bola gun. He'd learned his lesson last time about rushing in unprepared, so this time he was well-equipped and ready to clear the area completely to find the stolen packages and supplies at his leisure.  
That is until he snuck into a certain tent and stared right at the back of a certain someone he knew all too well. Someone whose ridiculous sense of smell and DOOMs would certainly alert him of the porter's presence before he had a chance to get the jump on him.   
"Well, shit," Sam thought.

Suddenly startled, the black and yellow clad man turned around quickly, his cape flourishing behind him and his golden skull glinting in the lantern light.  
"Oh! Well what do we have here!" Higgs laughed, an edge to his voice betraying a sudden adrenaline rush.  
Sam held onto his strand tightly, knowing he was absolutely fucked but trying desperately to think of a way out of this.  
"Looks like you've caught me with my pants down, Bridges. Metaphorically of course."  
And then Higgs was gone before reappearing right in his face, peering down at him.  
"Unless you're into that kinda thing," he purred, and while Sam was distracted, warped behind him to push him further into the tent.  
"Uh," was all Sam could say, his brain sort of shutting down in panic but also, he had to admit, feeling a little excited. Their last encounter, despite being mostly bad, left him with a strange feeling of wanting more. He couldn't figure out where the attraction was coming from, but tried to stifle it as much as he could.  
"Come on in, Sammy boy. Let's have a little chat, shall we? I must say I've missed you somethin' awful" Higgs said, his voice sarcastic but sultry, as he pushed Sam forward a little more towards a table before turning him around and pushing him down to sit.  
Sam didn't know if he was complying out of fear or curiosity, or both. He still gripped his strand tightly.  
When the shorter man made no response, Higgs leaned down into him, and Sam could see the shine of his ice blue eyes staring him down.  
"You wanna tell me why you're here or do you want me to keep harrassing you? 'Cause honestly, Sam, I'm a busy man, but I'm also real pent up," he whispered, trailing a hand up Sam's left arm and squeezing his bicep.  
Sam's breath hitched at the touch and flinched back.  
"I didn't know you'd be here. I was just trying to get stolen packages."  
Higgs hummed, curious at how docile Sam seemed to be compared to their past encounters, and laid a hand on Sam's thigh now, feeling upwards and into the inside of his thigh close to his crotch.  
Sam made a small noise in the back of his throat and shoved Higgs away, grabbing his bola gun off his hip and aiming to shoot. Higgs teleported out of the way and lifted Sam up effortlessly, threw him onto a cot and got on top of him, straddling him and leaning over slightly. It all happened so fast it made Sam's head spin. He had no idea Higgs was that strong physically, even without using any DOOMs powers.   
"You be a good boy for me, now, Sam. No fighting."  
"Why the fuck do you keep doing this? Let me go," Sam whined, trying to push Higgs away, which just made the terrorist hold him down at the shoulders.  
"Because," Higgs explained carefully, "I like to see you squirm."  
Sam glared at him, and tried to lift a fist to punch him but Higgs continued holding him down.  
"You know, Bridges. You hurt my feelings," he murmured, his voice low and dangerous but with a twinge of sadness.   
"What the fuck are you talking about?"  
"I'm just here tryin' to be romantic and do nice things for you, and what do I get in return? You call me gross. And a creep."  
Sam wasn't sure how much of this was taunting or for real.  
"You're a psycho."  
"Oh, so now I'm an ugly, creepy psycho? Words hurt, Sam. Now I don't even want to take my mask off because of you."  
"I never said you were ugly," Sam mumbles against his better judgement.  
"Hmm?" laughed Higgs, cocking his head slightly.  
Sam struggled again and Higgs shushed him gently, and hesitated before removing his mask and placing it aside.  
"Sorry if my face offends, but I can't exactly do what I want to you with that on."  
"No more fucking licking, goddammit."  
Higgs laughed and leaned in close to Sam's face, who cringed back and turned his head to the side.   
"Don't worry, Sammy. I got other plans for you."  
Higgs grabbed him by the jaw and forced him to look at him before kissing him, his tongue sliding into Sam's mouth. The porter struggled under him but Higgs just kept pushing down more, his tongue exploring the other man's mouth leisurely.   
Sam felt an unmistakable hardness against his thigh that he was certain wasn't a gun.   
Oh.  
When Sam stopped struggling but still wasn't really moving, Higgs broke the kiss, a strand of saliva connecting their lips as he caught his breath.   
"See, Sam?" He panted, rocking his hips against the other's gently, a light whine escaping his throat. "I can be good."  
"You call this being good?" Sam grunted, but his body couldn't deny how this was affecting him, despite how he felt about this scumbag.  
"I dunno, Sam," Higgs breathed, his voice getting more heady and thick with desire as he ground his crotch into Sam's, "seems like I'm not the only one enjoyin' this."   
Sam tried not to let it show how turned on he was, and tried to push Higgs off again before he was yet again slammed back down with the terrorist's tongue down his throat.  
When Higgs, while kissing him, moaned out a "uhhnn, Sammy" and moved a hand down to hold Sam at the waist, the porter absolutely couldn't pretend he wasn't into this anymore. And started to kiss back with fervor.  
Higgs paused, seemingly actually surprised that he was finally reciprocating, and Sam took advantage of that by lapping his tongue over the other's and nipping his bottom lip. Higgs let go of his hold on Sam's arm to slide his palm over the hard-on now tenting his Bridges pants, and his icy eyes widened at the moan Sam let out.   
"God, Higgs," Sam rasped, grabbing the back of the other man's neck and pulling him down for another toothy, wet kiss. His other hand went around to grope at Higgs' ass.  
The terrorist was putty in his hands, finally letting Sam take control, and making all sorts of needy noises.   
Higgs finally pressed down on Sam to pause the makeout to work on putting their BB pods aside and unzipped Sam's jumpsuit, only to frown that there was even more clothing underneath. As he tugged it down more, Sam grabbed his wrist and then pushed him up, stepped over and pushed Higgs down onto the cot and took off his cowl and started working on his vest.  
"Woah there, f-fuck," Higgs gasped, feeling Sam's hands all over him. And then Sam was kissing his neck and grinding his erection into the others', groaning and feeling so delightfully overstimulated. It'd been too damn long since he felt like this. Higgs bit down on one of his knuckles, desperately trying to stop being so loud. Sam felt like his head was spinning with desire.   
Eventually he freed both of their already hard and red cocks and began humping into the taller man in earnest, and grabbed Higgs' jaw and sloppily kissed the side of his mouth.  
"Ah - s-slow down, Bridges," Higgs begged, but made no effort to actually stop anything Sam was doing, just clinging onto him and wrapping his long legs around his waist. "I-I'm too - ah - close."  
Sam let up only a little, but nipped at his earlobe and at his neck, before leaning up and staring down at Higgs', whose lined eyes were shining, lips somewhat swollen and face completely flushed with desire.  
"Fuck, you're so hot," Sam growled, increasing his pace again and panting. "So fucking hot. It's not fair."  
Sam claimed his mouth again and with a few more unsteady jerks, groaned and shuddered as streams of jizz streaked Higgs' stomach and some of his bulletproof vest. The taller man came almost immediately at being jizzed on, whining Sam's name wantonly and arching his back until he slumped back down, now covered in both of their come.   
As they both panted and caught their breath, Sam stared down at Higgs' face and ran his fingers through his hair. 

Higgs suddenly looked shy, his eyes seemingly not knowing where to land on, and chuckled nervously.  
"Well, uh," he began before clearing his throat, "well, Sam, it looks like you've made quite a mess of me. And here I was, supposed to have met with a very important colleague ten minutes ago." He tisked, obviously trying desperately to feel in control of the situation again.  
Sam kissed his heated and sweaty cheek.  
"You look really cute like this. All fucked and happy."  
Higgs put his hand out and his mask appeared in it, but before he could slap it on his face in self-consciousness, Sam grabbed his wrist and shook his head.  
"Hey. Don't hide. I mean it."  
Looking slightly embarrassed, Higgs let the mask drop to the floor and pulled Sam down into a long, patient kiss.   
There was something uncomfortably romantic about it to Sam, and he vaguely wondered if his nemesis could possibly be feeling the same way.   
When they finally broke the kiss, Higgs suddenly angled Sam's head away and bit into his neck like a hungry vampire.   
"What-what the hell," Sam yelled, trying to push him off, but his body was still too exhausted to make him budge.  
Higgs continued to suck and bite at his neck until he was apparently satisfied, and let Sam go, actually pushing him up and off of him.  
"What the hell was that about?" growled Sam. He felt a little attacked, but it also didn't feel particularly bad either. If he'd done that before he came, he probably would've actually loved it. The porter put a hand to his neck and rubbed at it but didn't come back with any blood.  
"Just marking you," Higgs declared, taking off his stained vest and shirt and trying to wipe the strands off his belly with the clean sides of them, muttering an "Ugh" when it smeared and tried to stick to the line of hair above his belly button.  
Sam watched him while he stuffed himself back into his underwear and zipped up his jumpsuit. His brain was still mostly static, unable to really comprehend how strange this meeting was yet.  
"Well, Sammy Porter," Higgs sighed, shirtless and exhausted. He walked over to him and laid his arms around his shoulders, pulling him close and laying his chin on the top of his head. "Until next time. And there better be a next time," he demanded, giving Sam a threatening squeeze.   
"You've got to make an honest man of me now."  
Before Sam could react, Higgs was gone. His mind still sort of reeling at what just happened, Sam picked up his BB pod and attached it securely to his chest before heading out. 

As Sam was taking the packages out of the orange postbox, he paused for a moment. Something had finally occurred to him.

"Wait. Did Higgs just ask me to marry him?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't actually plan to continue this fic but uh, here it is! Enjoy more smut.

There was hardly time for Sam to dwell on the strange encounters he'd been having with the leader of the Homo Demens as his quest to connect all of the knots of the UCA continued. There were so many orders to run, so many people demanding his attention and pulling him every which way.   
It left the porter exhausted every night, collapsing on the private room beds any chance he could only to have interrupted fitful sleep plagued by nightmares of the end.   
The terrain certainly didn't help things. Even with the thermal pad so graciously offered by Heartman, it was still freezing up in the snowy mountains. The kind of cold that seems to seep into your bones and leave you chilled long after warming up inside.   
So when Sam, loaded with heavy cargo and muscles crying out for mercy, spotted a hot spring along a delivery route in the mountains, he gladly took the time to bask in the hot relief.  
Once shoulder-deep in the steamy medicinal water, Sam let out a happy sigh. As he watched Lou pretend to swim around in her BB pod, he almost thought he could fall asleep here. The heat was making him feel almost drunk with comfort and relaxation, and he thought he would just rest his eyes for a moment as he leant his head back onto the rocks.  
Luckily for him or not, the second he drifted off he was awoken by the sound of snow crunching under heavy boots nearby.  
Snapping his head up to look for the source of the noise, he was greeted with the familiar black and gold of Higgs Monaghan.   
"Hah, found you again, Sam. Relax, relax. I'm not here to bother you," he smiled almost sheepishly as he unclipped his cape and began completely disrobing. Sam frowned and moved farther away from him, but still stayed in the water. He doubted that Higgs would actually fight him in the buff in a damn hot spring, and their last encounters hadn't exactly been violent, but he still wanted to be on guard just in case. He moved the BB pod with him, letting her swim on the opposite end.   
Finally out of all of his armor and clothes, Sam glanced a few times at his naked form as he entered the spring, trying to ignore the thoughts of how pretty he looked, in a willowy legs-for-days kind of way. He had to stop this train of thought now before it went too far. He had to convince himself last time was a one time thing that meant nothing, for the mission's sake. For Fragile's sake.   
The brunette looked out over the mountainscape and huffed a sigh, trying to focus on the beauty of the surrounding area and continue to enjoy his soak.   
When Sam dared to look back to where Higgs had been, there was nothing but placid water and steam. For a moment he thought the terrorist might've just warped away until he emerged from under the water much too close and took a deep breath as he put his hands through his hair. Sam flinched back, on guard and ready for any underhanded violence, but his breath hitched when Higgs eyes fluttered open and stared right at him. With all the eyeliner and tar washed away, he looked so different, but to Sam, still distractingly gorgeous.   
"Focus, you fuck," Sam thought to himself, clenching his fists to try to ground himself a little.   
"Boy, if this ain't a slice of heaven," Higgs sighed, and leant back against the rocks right next to Sam. It occurred to Sam to move away, or to just leave altogether, but he didn't want to give the other man the satisfaction of knowing he was yet again getting under his skin. Instead he simply grunted in acquiescence and stared fixedly out into the water.  
Lou started to swim toward them in her BB pod, almost looking like a little baby-powered boat, but Sam grabbed the pod and gentle moved it to float away again.  
He jumped as he felt a hot wet arm slick its way around his shoulders, and upon swiveling his head was met with blue eyes again staring right at him.   
"Ain't this nice, Sammy? Just me and you and a moment of solitude. Oh, and your little BB of course."  
Higgs was pulling Sam against his chest, and before he started to try to do anything more, Sam moved back, red-faced, frowning and looking anywhere but at this villain who he couldn't seem to keep his head on straight around.   
"Aww, come on, Sam. I thought you liked me too," Higgs laughed, but there was a hint of sadness in his teasing. Much to the porter's surprise, he let Sam go and gave him some space.   
"Honest to God, I didn't know you'd be out here. Just wanted to relax, myself. Even particles of God need a good spa day once in a while."  
"Hn," was all Sam uttered, annoyed at both Higgs and himself for once again enjoying the other man's company more than he'd ever want to admit. The combination of the relaxing water and heat, and Higgs so close by, was making him feel light-headed.   
Higgs seemed oblivious to Sam's inner turmoil and stretched languidly, arms stretched out behind him showing off milky skin with tight wiry muscles underneath, resting his head on his hands. His collarbones stuck out elegantly below his shoulders, and the way his long neck still glistened slightly with droplets of water made Sam's mouth run dry.  
Eventually, only when Higgs looked over to the other man did the porter realize how long he'd been staring at him, practically drooling like a damn fool. The taller man just looked sheepish again and let out an awkward laugh, glancing away.   
It brought to mind how he'd looked after their last meeting, strangely shy and vulnerable, despite being overbearing and pompous at every other time he'd seen him, especially while sending BTs at him.   
Higgs was blushing under his gaze and fidgeting, and Sam thought to himself that he was beautiful.   
"Didn't, uh, anyone ever tell you it was impolite to stare, Sammy?"  
"I'm... I'm sorry? Um. Are you sure you're not here to ambush me?"  
Higgs' shoulders relaxed a little and he barked a laugh, edging closer to Sam.   
"This would be a sorry place for an ambush. Me in my birthday suit so far away from anybody that even a voidout wouldn't do shit to nobody? What'd that do? No, Sam. No, like I said I'm just here to rest my weary legs, if you don't mind."  
"Hrm. Well, so am I."  
The taller man kept edging closer until their shoulders were practically touching. The anticipation was absolutely killing Sam, and he realized he'd been holding his breath for at least a minute until Higgs finally slid his hand over Sam's to hold it like a shy teenager. Sam looked over at him in surprise, and Higgs eyes were so damn shy and sincere that the porter finally snorted and couldn't stop laughing, his shoulders shaking with the effort to stifle it. Higgs slowly let go, his face falling and contorting into something ashamed and angry.   
"Wait, H-Higgs," Sam laughed, trying to calm himself down and be serious enough to de-escalate the situatuon, "I'm not laughing at you, I'm just--ahaha, fuck-- I was just so scared you were gonna try to fucking kill me or something. And here you are--"   
Sam doubled over again, holding his abdomen with one hand and slapping Higgs' shoulder with the other. The terrorist remained stoic at first, face burning red with embarrassment, until he too was laughing, holding onto Sam and trying to muffle his laughter into the other man's shoulder.  
"Goddammit, you're an idiot, Sam. And here I was, so-- so fuckin' nervous, thinkin' you knew I... I wanted to…"   
Higgs' laughter died down, and he caught his breath, and Sam followed suit, wondering where that thought had been going, but he had a feeling he knew.   
"Higgs," Sam said, his voice more even and serious as he faced the taller man, "you're so… sweet when we're alone like this. Last time, um--"  
"Ugh, stop, Sam," Higgs groaned, blushing again and looking away to try and hide his face.   
Sam's mouth screwed up as if to laugh again, but he swallowed it to save Higgs a little face.  
"This is exactly what I'm talking about. Look," Sam took his shoulders, before throwing caution to the wind and just taking him into his arms and pulling him close, "Higgs, if you actually like me, if you want something, you don't need to be so shy about it."  
Higgs looked down at him with surprised, wide eyes before averting them and turning his head away, seemingly deeply embarrassed again.  
"You'd never actually want someone like me. If I didn't just force myself on you last time-- I mean, I wasn't about to go so far with it until you--you actually--"  
"I did want it. I mean yeah, I didn't want to want it. All you ever did before was try and fuck things up for me, so why would I ever think--"  
"I know. I know. I can't tell you why but I had to. But I... Yeah, I like you, Sam. Obviously. I mean… fuck, what am I doin'?"  
Higgs pulled away, sadness clear as day in his icy blue eyes, but Sam grabbed his waist again and pulled him back, much to the taller man's surprise. Feeling a little bolder, and mostly just because most of his blood hadn't exactly been going to his head the whole time anyway, the brunette dragged his hands down Higgs' sides to his hip bones, and then felt up his abs up to his bony chest. The taller man's breath hitched and he grabbed Sam's wrists, eyes now half-lidded.  
"What in blue blazes… Goodness, Sam Bridges, I never took you for the touchy-feely, forward type."  
"I'm not," Sam murmured before pulling Higgs down to kiss him, freeing his hands from Higgs' grasp to put his arms around the other man's lower back and pull him into him, their hips bumping together under the hot water. The terrorist gasped at the contact, and Sam took advantage by deepening the kiss with his tongue.   
He didn't know what was making him so bold; whether it was the sexual tension eating him up or the heat of the hot spring getting to his head, he wasn't sure.   
Before he knew it they were full-on making out right there in the snowy valley hot spring, hands grasping anywhere they could find purchase, tongues and teeth clashing, hips rutting together desperately. The water didn't allow for much friction, but neither wanted to go out into the icy cold snow, so they stayed in the hot spring, Higgs' panting and keening driving Sam mad while he sucked at his neck.   
"F-fuck, Sam," Higgs grunted, reaching down to hold both of their members together and jack them both at the same time. Practically growling into the other man's neck, Sam drove his hips forward, arching his back at the much-needed extra contact.   
"God, Higgs," Sam gasped, reaching down to help him out, gripping his own hand around where Higgs couldn't reach to cover, and working on groping Higgs' thighs and ass while kissing him. The terrorist kissed back hungrily, moaning into the others' mouth and moving his hips with his hand.   
They took their time this time around, slowing down when getting too close and taking the time to just rest their foreheads together, soaking in each other's company, or kissing to their heart's content.   
As Sam was just looking into his eyes and lazily humping his dick against Higgs' in both of their fists, he noticed the other man start to blush and smile lop-sidedly, breaths coming out in puffs of hot air.  
"Sam, I… w-when you look at me like that, I…"  
"What is it?" Sam asked, and reached up with his free hand to cup Higgs' cheek and stroke it with his thumb. Higgs moaned softly and leant his face into the touch.  
"I just… I want you to be mine. I wanna be yours. I want--unh, oh, Sam!"  
Sam had no idea why Higgs wanting something like that turned him on as much as it did, but he couldn't help his hips from moving and his hand from jacking them hard at those words, leaning heavily into his-- lover? and biting at his shoulder as he neared the edge. Higgs kept with Sam's pace with his own hand wrapped around their cocks, and panted and practically whimpered against Sam before seizing up and coming hard, wrapping his arm around Sam's shoulders tightly.   
"Jesus!! Fuck! Sam! Nh!"  
"H-Higgs!--"  
Sam quickly came after him, trying to stay silent but moaning quietly into Higgs' shoulder as he jerked his hips with the last of his spurts.  
They panted there in each other's arms as they caught their breath, Sam leaning back into the rocks behind him and Higgs holding his arms around the shorter man's shoulders and resting his cheek against Sam's forehead.   
"Lord Almighty, Sam," Higgs murmured wistfully, "what are we doin'?"  
Not quite ready for such a heavy question, and certainly not ready to actually think about it, Sam patted him on the back and mumbled "you started it."  
Higgs chuckled and kissed his forehead before leaning back to look him in the eyes.   
"Suppose I did."  
He stared him down for an uncomfortably long time, running a hand down his arm, touching his cheek, threading his fingers through his hair; it seemed to Sam that Higgs was trying to memorize every bit of him, or maybe he was just stalling. Eventually, Higgs leaned down and kissed his overheated cheek.  
"Until next time, Sam Porter Bridges."  
In a flash, Higgs was gone, leaving Sam feeling colder and more alone than he'd felt in a long time.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam had finally gotten to Edge Knot, and although the trek there was long and arduous, it almost seemed surreal to him that he could possibly have reached his goal as quick as he did. Sure it had been months, but such a trip should normally have taken years.  
As he walked toward the distro center near Edge Knot, a familiar figure materialized in front of him, and he recoiled by habit.  
"Sammy!" Higgs breathed, running toward him with black tears running down his cheeks, and took him in a tight hug. Sam flinched back again, but soon enough his muscles relaxed, his very cells remembering their last encounter.  
"H-Higgs," Sam grunted, hesitantly putting his hands on the taller man's shoulders to push him back abruptly. It occurred to Sam that it'd been the first time he'd seen Higgs appear to him without even one of his masks on, and seeing his pretty face again did things to his heart that he didn't at all want to parse through in his mind.  
"If this ain't bittersweet," he sighed, leaning into Sam with sincere and sad eyes, "Why, I'd almost hoped you wouldn't show up so this wouldn't have to happen. Though of course I always love to see you."  
"What do you mean? What's going to happen?"  
"Oh, Sammy," Higgs tisked, patting his shoulder heavily, "you know by now we're fated to face each other in a grand finale of combat. But honestly we were always on the same side, both going by what she wants."  
"Amelie? The hell are you talking about? Aren't you--"  
"Don't you trust me, Sam? After everythin'?"  
Higgs was so close now, Sam could feel his breath on his mouth. He glanced from his black rimmed bright blue eyes to his thin lips, swallowing heavily.  
"Didn't you think it a little convenient? All those times I showed up, no matter how powerful I am, I never really made anything more than inconvenient for you? It was all her idea. So you'd get here faster."  
"Higgs, why would she… no, that's crazy--"  
"What's crazy is how much this is affecting me, too. Her, sure, I could see it. But me?"  
"Affecting you? What are you talking about? What's going on?"  
"Amelie. She's supposed to be ending the goddamn world and everything in it, and that's what I signed up for, but… now she wants you to stop her, stop everything. Cause she's too damn soft to make up her fuckin' mind."  
Sam let out a breath in surprise, but couldn't exactly say it didn't make sense. He'd had a feeling something fishy had been going on for a long time, maybe even before Bridget died, but he just couldn't exactly put into words why.  
"And then I'm here to try to remind her to do her job as Extinction Entity, but I'm falling for the same fuckin' weakness she is. Fitting, huh," he murmured, palming Sam's cheek. The porter would've thought this was some kind of elaborate trick had their last encounter gone differently, and if the look in Higgs' eyes hadn't been so clear and sincere.

The sky was as grey and dismal around them as Sam felt inside. How the fuck did he even get into this mess? He just wanted to be alone, and do his job. He didn't want to have to decide the fate of the world, the fate of anything or anyone. 

Tears unrelated to chiral allergy slid down Sam's cheeks and he let out a heavy sigh, to which Higgs reacted with surprise.  
"Oh, oh Sam," he chuckled sadly, and brought the other man into a tight embrace.  
"I just want to go back to when things made sense."  
"I hear you, Sam. But unfortunately that was probably before either of us were born. I don't want to fight you, Sammy-- and I don't want to fight this... this thing between us anymore, either."  
"What--what thing between us?"  
Higgs laughed and looked into his eyes. Locked into that gaze, for that moment, Sam wondered what the hell he could've possibly seen in an older ornery man like himself. It annoyed the hell out of him that the rational side of his mind telling him this man was dangerous and not to be trusted was so easily overridden when Higgs was looking at him and touching him so gently. Touching. Of course the only person Sam could stand to be touched by, even wanted to be touched by was this psycho. It's like the world was out to get him in every front.  
"Come on, Sam," Higgs said quietly, his own mouth dangerously close to the other's, "don't act like you've forgotten. Me? Not a damn day has gone by that I haven't thought about that time. And it's turnin' me fuckin' soft, Sam. You're… fucking things up for me. For everything."  
Sam's hairs stood on end in a way he didn't exactly like. He wasn't at all sure if Higgs was about to kiss him or kill him, and he braced himself for either, not exactly sure which would be the more favorable outcome.  
"At first I was honestly pissed about it. I thought you were some kinda hero complex type, trying to put the world back together. But then she told me you wouldn't have given a shit about any of this, even the world endin', unless she herself needed help. Took me by surprise. But you're still fucking everything up, either way. She wouldn't even be calling you out here if you hadn't been fuckin' it up from the beginning."  
Sam shoved Higgs away roughly and stormed away with a huff, his mind a whirlwind of ideas and emotions. He didn't need this shit right now. He was so close to the end and now he didn't know what to do or think.  
"Hey. Sammy! Where are you goin'? Hold yer horses!"  
Higgs appeared in front of him, but Sam just shoved him away again, trying to hide the pained expression on his face. The idea that Amelie was fucking around not only with him but the fate of the goddamn world was making him wish more than ever that he could just cut himself off from everyone and everything. But at the same time, he needed to get to her and figuratively slap some sense into her.  
And if instead it was Higgs who was fucking with him just to turn him against Amelie, or maybe just to make him let his guard down, it fucked up with his heart as well, even if not quite at the same level.  
No matter how hard he tried to compartmentalize and smother the sentimentality that had bloomed in him for the leader of the Homo Demens since their last encounter, he'd been dreaming of him more often than he'd like to admit.  
Sam trudged ahead, his jaw twitching in anxiety as he purposefully ignored Higgs as he walked alongside him, trying to get his attention and grab at him.  
"Sammy, come on. I'm sorry if I… I didn't mean to be a jerk. I'm the bad guy, remember? Ah, shit. Slow down."  
With a frustrated growl, Higgs warped next to Sam and slammed him against a nearby building, startling the porter into momentary attentiveness, looking up at Higgs with wide eyes.  
"God fuckin' dammit, Sam Porter Bridges, listen to me."  
"I've listened to enough of your bullshit, Higgs."  
"There's no fuckin' bullshit. Sam, I… I don't want to fight you, y'hear? I just want to--I just--"  
Higgs hiccuped in despair before gripping Sam's collar to pull him up into a rough kiss. Against his own anger and confusion, Sam's body melted into it and his mouth seemed to move on its own, kissing back with a frenzied desperation. Higgs was sobbing into Sam's mouth as their tongues ran against each other, and Sam could taste his black tears. He felt as Higgs lowered him to his feet and leant down to wrap his arms around his shoulders. The shorter man gripped at his cape as he felt Higgs' hands threading through his hair.  
Sam's heart was pounding and squeezing painfully, and a tight coiling warmth was building up from his gut and below.  
He was absolutely lost in how much he needed this: to let someone in, to actually feel like someone gave a shit about him beyond how they could use him for something, to let himself be touched. He was at the mercy of Higgs' affections and his own growing desire for the other man.  
None of it made sense. None of it made any damn sense anymore, and all Sam wanted at that very moment was that homicidal maniac in his arms.  
Higgs finally broke the kiss, panting heavily and still running his fingers through Sam's hair.  
"I can't fuckin' do this anymore, Sam, not even for her. Fuck."  
"So don't."  
"This is so fuckin' messed up, Sam. It's tearin' me apart."  
Sam heaved a sigh and pulled Higgs in for a tight hug, their BB's clinking together and pressing into each other's abdomens. He could barely work through any of his own feelings or thoughts right now, and most of his focus right now was on Amelie and stopping this apocalypse. He had no time to help Higgs work through whatever existential crisis he was facing, but he could at the very least let him cry on his shoulder. 

It'd been almost exactly 10 years since anyone had done this, and the sound of Lucy sobbing into his ear flashed through his mind briefly, the feel of her pregnant belly pressed against him. The parallels of it wore at him, and he found himself rubbing Higgs' back and hushing him, telling him everything was going to be okay. His heart wished that those words had ever been more than empty platitudes, for either of them.  
"I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do."  
Higgs' and Lucy's voices were tangled up in his head. He felt just as lost now as he did then, just as responsible for the others' misery. He couldn't do this again.  
Lucy's lifeless and beautiful face flickered through his mind as he thumbed the black tears off Higgs' cheeks.  
This was why he stayed alone.  
Nothing good ever came from getting involved with him.  
"I'm sorry," Sam whispered, his voice cracking with sadness, "but right now, this is all too much. I have to go see Amelie and--and I don't know. Maybe she'll end the world, or whatever, maybe she won't. I don't even give a shit what she does. But, listen. Just wait for me. After all of this is over, I… I'll make it right. Okay? I'll do my best. Just wait for me."  
Sam barely comprehended what he was promising to the other man, his heart so full and broken at the same time that he could barely make sense of anything anymore.  
Higgs seemed to understand, though, and let out a sobbing laugh, leaning his face into the crook of Sam's neck.  
"You really gonna make an honest man of me at the end of the world, Sam?"  
"I'm not gonna let you go without a fight."  
"Oh man," Higgs sighed, his voice shaking, and chuckled sadly, "that's the most romantic shit anyone has ever said to me."  
Sam's cheeks burned as he rubbed circles into Higgs' back self-consciously. He wondered, though, how much of this was out of whatever sort of messed up affection he'd developed for the other man and how much of it was trying to make up for not being there for her in those last moments. If he couldn't even save her, there was no way in hell he could help someone as fucked up as Higgs. He was grasping at the ghost of hope, staring death in the face at the end of all things.  
"So, what, then? You want me to stay here? Defy her orders of meeting at the Beach."  
"Yeah. Just stay here. I'll either work it out or it all ends anyway. No point in all this fake hero and villain bullshit. And if we all go, maybe we can… find each other after that."  
"You'd... You'd really want us to…"  
Higgs looked about ready to start crying again. Sam pulled him down for another heated kiss, wondering to himself just what the hell he thought he was doing and if he'd actually finally lost it. When the feeling of Higgs' tongue and scruff against his own face started to distract him more than he wanted, he pushed the other man away and held his shoulders at arm's length.  
"I gotta go. I'll be back for you, somehow. Here."  
He handed his strand to Higgs, and the terrorist took it with an almost mystified expression.  
"Sam, I…"  
"See you."  
Sam was already walking toward the Edge Knot City building, ready to ask Fragile to get him to Amelie right away.  
"Sam!"  
He glanced back at Higgs, who still stood there holding the strand in both hands, his eyes as intense as ever.  
"I love you, Sam Porter Bridges!"  
Sam felt the wind knocked out of him, and for a moment he had no clue what to do or say, and wavered there mid-step.  
"I love you, you crazy bastard!" Higgs yelled out again, tears streaming down his face despite his hard and determined eyes, "So you better fucking come back to me! You hear me? Don't you fucking die out there and leave me alone!"  
Sam let out a breath of a laugh and, after squeezing his eyes shut in emotional agony, finally decided to respond.  
"I promise when I get back I'll be all yours. Now get out of here."  
Despite the order, Higgs stood and watched as Sam entered the private room of Edge Knot, his legs shaking under him and his breaths ragged. 

For a good while there, in the end, Sam wasn't even sure if Amelie had ended it all or not. He was wandering a beach that looked like the Central Knot area. His skin was blue. Perhaps he was as dead as he could be.  
Amelie had explained things to him: all of her fucked up, convoluted plans, her lies.  
As he finally sat on the beach alone, surrounded by nothing but breaking waves and endless hills, he could only wonder what had happened to Lou; what would happen to Lou.  
If this was the end, would he truly never see her again? Was she lost on her own beach?  
And if the world had been spared, would anyone take care of her, or would they just dispose of her like some broken tool?  
Try as he might to feel anything, Sam just felt empty.  
Despite all the garbage excuses Amelie tried to make, she still treated him like any other BB: equipment, useful until broken, thrown away after it served its purpose. 

When Sam had almost began to make his peace with living out the rest of eternity alone and dead on that beach, despite all odds, his connections to his friends brought him back. 

After finally waking up from that long slumber and finally gaining his faculties, with much help from Deadman, Sam could hardly believe he was actually back. It was almost surreal, especially with the strange numbness and heaviness in his heart left from Amelie's monologue.  
But he was back, and Lou was okay. In the private room alone, he held the BB pod close to his chest and sang to her.  
The relief that he could be there to protect her, to make sure no one would ever just let her be thrown away like junk, thawed out his heart.  
And it made him remember a promise he'd made before all of this shit with Amelie on the beach. To him, it felt like that time at Edge Knot was decades ago. 

And although to Higgs it'd only been a few days, it felt far too long since he'd heard any news about Sam. But the world hadn't ended.  
He'd had enough agonizing over whether or not Sam was still alive or if he even remembered the deal they'd made before he jumped to her Beach.  
Continuing to pace in Peter Englert's old shelter, he let out a frustrated sigh and thought about just going back to causing chaos and void-outs if just to somewhat douse the wildfire in his heart. But then he spotted Sam's strand on his desk.  
He gripped it tightly in his fist. In his heart he knew he wouldn't give a damn if it took him to Sam's beach. He'd gladly spend eternity with him in death, but there was also the possibility that he was still stuck on Amelie's beach, unable to be reached, or even somewhere in-between. The seam.  
With a desperation Higgs had only felt a handful of times in his life, he decided to take the risk, and, after a brief moment of concentration, disappeared in a mist of chiralium. 

Sam's dreams had been strange since he returned from the Beach. They weren't the usual nightmares of Amelie's apocalypse anymore, but they still weren't exactly anything happy.  
A day or so after Sam first regained consciousness, he dreamt that Lou had grown to be a toddler, and was trying to raise her as best as he could. But some people in Bridges uniforms took her away and threw her into the Timefall rain. She melted away until she was just a fetus--just as she was in the BB pod.  
The Bridges officials disappeared and Higgs, in full Homo Demens uniform, was suddenly there, and took the little baby Lou into his arms. He held her out to Sam, his eyes unreadable behind the gold skull mask.  
"Sam, you said you'd come back for me."  
Sam tried to run toward Higgs and Lou but his legs felt like lead, and he suddenly began sinking into the ground.  
"They're gonna kill us, Sam. They're gonna kill us."  
"No! I won't let them!" Sam tried to yell, but his voice just came out in suffocated rasps.  
He was up to his waist in mud, reaching towards them.  
"Sammy, I'm here. Sam. Sam!"

"Sam!"  
The porter snapped awake in the private room bed and jolted up, nearly knocking his forehead into Higgs' who leaned back as he held him in his arms.  
"What the-- Higgs?"  
"Oh, Sammy, thank fuckin' Christ. You're okay," the terrorist laughed, sniffling despite the relief in his voice.  
"Yeah, yeah I… I just got back a few days ago, but I... I've been sorta healing up. I'm sorry I didn't try to--"  
"It's, okay, Sammy. It's okay. God, I was so fuckin'-- scared out of my goddamn wits."  
Sam sighed out a laugh as Higgs held onto him like he would disappear if he let go, and kept kissing his cheeks and neck while murmuring his name over and over.  
"I guess you must've used the strand to get here?"  
Higgs nodded, and finally stopped his crusade of kisses to rest his cheek on the top of Sam's head.  
"I was ready to end up on that damn beach for eternity with you. But I'm... Fuck. For the first time I guess I can say I'm glad to be alive, if it means… Ugh, it's so sappy. If I can be here with you."  
Higgs held him closer to his chest and placed a kiss on his hair. Sam's strong muscular arms wrapped around his waist.  
"I'm glad you're okay, too. But this place is monitored. They're gonna know you're here."  
"Then let's go. I think you said somethin' about, after all this, you're mine, right? Well I'll take you then," he chuckled as Sam looked at him with more than a little confusion.  
"What're you talking about? If we walk out of here, they're bound to notice."  
"We'll jump. You can take your young'un too. Come on, time's a-wastin', and I want to show you how much I missed you."  
Face heating up at the predatory purr in Higgs' voice, Sam went to retrieve Lou from the wall. He held the BB pod tightly in his arms as he walked back to Higgs.  
"Alright. Let's get the hell out of here."


End file.
